Selectmen in Bridgton are considering following the path of several neighboring towns – hiring the county dispatch center and closing their own.

Though Bridgton Police Chief David Lyons opposes the switch, Fire Chief Glen Garland supports it.

The town manager, police chief, dispatch director and fire chief compiled a report about current dispatch operations and the potential ramifications of switching. After reviewing the report Tuesday, selectmen decided to send a lengthy list of questions to the county to find out what services the Cumberland County Regional Communications Center in Windham could provide for the town.

Selectman Paul Hoyt said he was keeping an open mind.

“I don’t have my mind made up either way,” Hoyt said Wednesday. “The money’s the easy thing, but if you’re also giving up services, that’s where the balance comes in. And we’re talking jobs.”

“I’m very pro our own dispatch,” said Selectman Doug Taft Wednesday. “It would be a terrible loss to our community.”

Taft said the dispatch center provides more for the community than people realize, and he would like to retain local control over this service.

“I don’t think the economy needs seven more people unemployed,” Taft added.

Casco, Naples and Raymond entered into contracts with the regional communications center as of Jan. 1, after deciding to close the dispatch center in Naples to save money.

The Bridgton Police Department employs four full-time and three part-time dispatchers, who answered 15,611 calls in 2008. The dispatch center is located on the lower level of the municipal complex.

“This proposed transition will have a direct impact on lowering the level and quality of service already being realized by the town,” Lyons wrote. “Dispatchers provide a variety of services outside those of dispatching police officers and firefighters.”

Town Manager Mitchell Berkowitz put together a five-year cost comparison between the two options. Transition costs in the first year would put the switch at $197,000, compared to the $275,000 in the budget for the Bridgton dispatch center. In subsequent years the cost difference would widen. For the next five years, Berkowitz projected local dispatching would cost $1.6 million, while county dispatch would come to $770,000.

County dispatch has offered to take on Bridgton for $89,000 for the first year and a 3 percent increase each year through 2014. Included in the cost of the switch is the salary for an administrative clerk for the police department.

Savings would not be as substantial as they seem, Lyons wrote, due to additional costs.

If they switched to county dispatch, Lyons said he expected to have to maintain a 24-hour presence in the reception area of the police department. Without dispatchers to help officers book and monitor prisoners, Lyons said he would have to call in others at overtime rates.

Dispatchers perform many different tasks, according to a report put together by Dan Managan, dispatch director. They call out public works crews in bad weather and let the public works director know when there are maintenance problems at town buildings.

They also assist other town departments and the Bridgton Community Center by answering questions, handling keys, being a drop-off point for property taxes when town offices are closed and monitoring security cameras at the municipal complex.

Dispatchers answer animal control calls, issue burn permits and help police officers with administrative tasks.

Local dispatchers have knowledge of the area, which is important in order to direct safety personnel, Managan wrote.

“A loss of Bridgton Public Safety Dispatch would be a severe blow to the Bridgton Police Department especially, but to all town departments, as almost all of the record keeping and research is done by dispatch,” Managan wrote.

Bridgton Fire Chief Glen Garland, however, recommended contracting with the county, in a decision he said was one of the hardest he has had to make as chief.

In a report to selectmen, Garland wrote that county dispatch could provide standardization between communities and allow several towns to be dispatched in mutual aid at the same time. Microwave towers would allow for faster data transmission, and the facility in Windham is state of the art, Garland wrote. There would be enough personnel to fill the need during major events.

Garland wrote that he had spoken with fire chiefs from Brunswick, Freeport, Cape Elizabeth and Windham. All wanted to switch to county dispatch, but the police departments in their communities did not agree.

Smaller communities will find that technological improvements will stretch local resources, Garland wrote, adding that he was concerned about Bridgton’s ability to make significant upgrades.

“The Bridgton Fire Department is able to conclude that the best dispatch service for our needs is the Cumberland County Regional Communication Center,” Garland wrote. “This decision was not reached without much heartache, soul searching and questioning.”